PASADENA – The Neighborhood Urban Family Center in Pasadena figured out how to get children to eat their vegetables – turn the kids into farmers.

The center on New York Drive in Pasadena converted the back half of its property into a community garden. Pasadena schoolchildren work in the garden, turning seeds into apples, peaches, pears – all sorts of produce.

“Things that they have grown they are willing to try,” said Mark Rice, the Neighborhood Family Center’s master gardener. “Last year the kids ate zucchini and kale. In each instance they are creating a habit that they carry for life.”

The students who come to the center tucked along the edge of the Eaton Wash come from some of Pasadena’s poorest neighborhoods. For some, the produce grown in the garden marks their introduction to fruits and vegetables.

“I never had an apple before we grew them in the garden,” said Cynthia Ramirez, 9. “I told my family that if they bought apples I would eat them at home.”

The program has introduced children to both ordinary and exotic vegetable and fruit variations. Children are just as likely to munch on a fava bean leaf as they are a carrot, said Jennie Wiebe, co-founder of the Neighborhood Urban Family Center.

However, getting the children to experiment often means taking healthy food and making it fun.

“For the kids, the fava bean leaves are cool because they turn their tongues green,” Wiebe said.

But the garden means more to the children than healthy eating and learning about compost and botany – it’s also play time.

“I like to water the plants so they can grow, and sometimes I like to splash water on my friends,” said Leonardo Sanchez, 10.

As for Wiebe, converting the back portion of the property into a garden was a virtual no-brainer.

“The huge plus about the program is giving urban kids the chance to have their hands in the earth,” said Wiebe.

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